Pages

Friday, 23 June 2017

I have a friend. Honestly, I do. He is a former colleague
but I can prove he is also a friend because Facebook says so.He is a quietly spoken, kind, clever and
thoughtful guy.

He also owns a gun shop. It is a good gun shop. It is the
type of gun shop that sells really sleek looking hand guns and rifles to smart
looking people who want to be prepared for a home invasion or hunting season or
the apocalypse or perhaps who just like guns.

He does not live in the UK.

Once we, as in me and my friend and a couple of other former
colleagues who did not end up as my friends, were hanging about waiting for a
briefing on something ever so important. I can’t remember what it was.

I can remember what we talked about.

There was the “guilty pleasure food” we would head for when
we got home.I won’t share what mine was
for fear of being mocked by my colleagues, but the clue is that they are made
in vast quantities in Callington.And
with less automation across the rest of Cornwall.

Then my friend asked whether I knew the story of the “Cornish
9 / 11 Hero”. I didn’t.His name is Rick
Rescorla.It’s an inspiring story if you
get the time to look it up.

I am pretty sure it was after 9 / 11 my friend’s gun shop
started.

We don’t have gun shops in the UK of the type my friend had
and still has.

But more and more recently we do see coppers out on the
streets with guns, which is a change.Firearms have become a more common sight in the UK.

I don’t think most of us are used to the sight.

Two armed officers, both of whom I’d served with as a
Constable on patrol, turned up our office on Tuesday.They had just finished dealing with and
recording a domestic incident, and had dropped into the nick to grab a cuppa
and use the porcelain facilities before resuming patrol.I wasn’t used to seeing them with guns and it
felt a little strange to think these were the guys I used to stand beside at
the occasional “confrontational” situation.

I was interested to see how the community reacted to them
and what they would say to the great British Public if they could.

There were two things.

The first officer went for an explanation about what to do
if see an emergency vehicle with its blue lights and sirens operating whilst
driving.That should really get its own
blog.So it will.

Now there’s something to look forward to.

The second officer thought it would be a good thing to
explain it is ok to have random people come up to unarmed and armed officers to
say hi, have a chat.

He explained that a man had approached them when they were patrolling
a town centre.

He had clocked[i] the
fellow walking towards him and automatically made his assessment. This member of the public coming towards him smiled
and looked a little embarrassed. The officer prepared himself for one of the
“Public Information” questions that are so common. How do I get to such and
such?What bus do I need to catch to get
to? My neighbour has done this and what will the police do about it? That type
of thing.

What actually happened was that this fellow walked up to officer
and said “I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for everything you do to
keep us safe”.

It took the officer a while to figure out how to
respond.In the end he settled for “You’re
welcome”.

The fellow then left, looking a bit less embarrassed.

The officer had a brief whispered conversation with his
colleague to decide if the man had been taking the mickey, or was being
genuine.The officer describing the
events to me made a point of saying the whole experience left him feeling a
little stunned.

In the end they decided the man seemed genuine.

Another officer in the office at the time said, “That
happened to me when I was PSU[ii]
in Exeter.Some teenager came up to me
and said “Thank you for being there to protect us”.”

This was the first time anyone had said anything like that
to either officer.In the years they had
been a police officer no stranger, no run of mill member of the community had
approached them for no discernible reason other than simply to say thank you.

The armed officer has served for nearly 15 years.

The second officer has served for 13 years.

And apparently the act of saying thank you is spreading.

Our deputy Chief Constable is at Glastonbury.He has just tweeted “Can’t move anywhere
without people shaking our hands. Great public support for the police”.

I have to admit I feel a little “stunned” myself.

What with guns being seen strapped to police officers on the
streets, referenda, elections, wicked people doing horrid things, tragedies and
outpourings of love life can already feel a bit overwhelming.

Add to that a very real, positive and noticeable change in
the way people relate to and behave towards the police family and I think it’s
understandable that some of us are not quite sure how to respond.

“You’re welcome” seems a little inadequate.

So I just wanted to say that if anyone feels a new sense of
gratitude or respect for the police family it is good to let us know.Any letter, email or conversation you have
that lets us know you care is a good thing. Your kindness and support is
appreciated, immensely.

But it may take the street tempered and world weary members
of the police family a little while to become used to having nice things said
to them whilst out in the public eye.

I’d ask that you be patient with us. It is a pretty new
thing for us and we have yet to work out a better reply than “You’re welcome”.

Oh, and to everyone who is in the ambulance, fire and rescue
and police families in whatever role, you are awesome.

PS – please drive safely, be kind to each other and don’t
mess with other people’s stuff.

[i]
“Clock”: to see, to notice, to have your attention drawn to. As in “I clocked
the bloke who had been on briefing”.Old
Bill Slang – none existent publications.

[ii]
“PSU” an abbreviation of Police Support Unit also known as “the big van full of
police officers with shields and crash helmets” and “ a unit of police officers who have
undergone specialist tactical training in Public Order and Riot Control.” www.cambs.police.uk/about/psu

Saturday, 17 June 2017

When there is a lot going on it is a good to remind yourself of a little history and why you are here.

Devon and Cornwall Police have been doing that recently.

On the 1st April this year we were officially 50 years old.

That is seven years younger than Simon Cowell and five years older than David Walliams according to Wikipedia.

And we have been celebrating. There have been "High Teas" for former officers and our friends, events to meet the public, a time capsule entombed in a mini obelisk and fancy "50th Anniversary" epaulettes sold to raise money for the Chief Constable's charities.

Our history may not be as long as some, such as the Metropolitan Police in London who opened for business in 1829 and haven't closed since, or the Great Western Railway (GWR) that ran its first train in 1835.

The track Isambard Kingdom Brunel built still crosses his bridge at Saltash and runs the length of Cornwall to Penzance. I once met a "passed fireman" who used to work the footplate and feed coal to the boiler of a GWR engine, and he had stories about smaller railway companies joining GWR.

So it has been for Devon and Cornwall Police. In 1967 the Cornwall County and Isles of Scilly Constabulary, more commonly called the Cornwall County Constabulary joined the Devon and Plymouth Constabularies and so we were born.

The Cornwall County Constabulary of 178 constables, 1 sergeant major, 2 superintendents and 1 chief constable in the name of Colonel Walter Raleigh Gilbert was formed 110 years earlier in 1856.
He was a descendent of the Sir Walter Raleigh's half brother.

At this time there had for 20 years already been Borough Police forces in Bodmin, Liskeard, Launceston, Truro, Falmouth, Helston, Penryn and St Ives. The Cornwall County Constabulary filled the gaps and started amalgamating these smaller forces.

The Bodmin Borough Police, all 3 of them, held out until 1866 before amalgamation.

The final amalgamation was in 1947 when the Isels of Scilly Constabulary joined forces. I don't know how many of them there was, but I would guess that they needed some persuading.

The world continues to change, the era of fish riots in Penzance where the Army helped the Chief Constable restore order and cutlass wounds were common have thankfully long gone. Today has its own challenges which in time will seem to be outdated and things of the past.

Right now we are working ever closer with Dorset Police in a Strategic Alliance.

So that is my police family's history, up until now.

As to the why we are here, I'll summarise how my Chief Constable and a former Commissioner of the Metropolis put it.

We prevent and detect harm and crime, protect the vulnerable, safeguard communities and we are always resilient and ethical.It's a little too long to make a strap line or sticker for a police car, but some things just are.And it's not really changed in the last 160 years. I like to think it is pretty well summarized by the saying we are "The Thin Blue Line".That's it for now except to say please take care when you are driving, be kind to each other and try not to covet your neighbour's nice things.